Chapter 71- Taunting Jokes

[] T H I R D •  P E R S O N []

A few moments later, Leo found himself sitting across from Jerry at the dining table. Gemma, Andre and Jamal were lined up beside the table, Andre standing closest to Leo, Gemma on the other side, and Jamal in between the two. All of them had their hands behind their backs, and that made Leo sit even straighter than he was before. Jerry had his hands clasped on the table, staring up at Leo with a rigid look. Despite looking scary on the outside, Jerry was doubling over with laughter on the inside as he watched Leo squirm in front of him.

Watching the scene before him, Jamal felt nervous for his best friend. He turned to Gemma, slightly leaning down to whisper to her discretely.

"Should we be scared or..." Jamal trailed off as he looked down to Gemma for an answer.

To his surprise, Gemma let out a small snort.

"I heard that Papa Harrison used to sneak Amelia out for parties. We're good," Gemma said.

Hearing that, both Andre and Jamal let out a small snicker.

Uncomfortable with the silence now, and restless that Amelia was missing again, Leo spoke to Jerry.

"Jerry-"

"That's 'sir' to you," Jerry said sternly.

Leo's eyes widened. He swallowed nervously before speaking up again. Properly this time.

"Uh...sir... with all due respect I think we should be looking for Amelia right now."

Jerry rose a brow at him. He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And why do you care so much about my daughter Leo? I thought you were just friends?"

Leo scratched the back of his neck and looked down nervously. Jerry finally cracked a small smile and turned to look at Jamal, Andre, and Gemma, who all had trouble holding their laughs in as they watched Leo. They had never seen him so flustered before. Jerry winked at them discretely before turning to look at Leo with the same stern expression.

"Go on Leo. I'm waiting for an explanation."

And Leo could only sit there with his mouth flopping open and close.

* * *

[] A M E L I A []

I let out a deep breath before walking up the steps to the second home I had to visit. This one would be harder, I knew that. But it had to be done.

Swallowing thickly to get rid of the lump in my throat, I reached up and rang the bell. A few moments later, I heard soft feet padding over to me from the other side of the door. A few moments later, the door opened, my face coming into contact with Lillian's dishevelled state. For a moment, we could only stare at each other. And then, Lillian conquered the silence.

"Oh sweetie," she gasped, before lunging forward and wrapping me in her embrace.

A dam broke as Lillian hugged me, and I wasted no time in hugging her back, both of us sobbing uncontrollably. All the emotions I had encased since yesterday, somehow came barreling down once more as I embraced Lillian.

Both of us didn't care that we were still on her front porch as we poured our hearts out to one another. I felt as if one more piece of me was restored as I held my dead best friend's mother in my arms, both of us grieving the loss of Brittany once more.

But this time, we were at peace.

After a few moments, we both pulled away and headed inside, wiping away at our cheeks as we did so. I took off my coat and boots, putting them in their right places before I followed Lillian down to the living room. We sat down side by side on the couch, both unable to say a word. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder as she continued to cry, unable to hold back my own tears.

"I'm...I'm so sorry Amelia," she sobbed, peering up at me guiltily.

My lip quivered as I saw her apologize with so much remorse.

"I didn't... I didn't know that Jackson-"

She cut herself off then, a sob escaping her throat. I rubbed her shoulder in comfort and shook my head at her.

I felt as if I was staring at myself from four years ago. I had been the same as Lillian. Just simply unable to do anything but apologize.

"It's not your fault, Lillian," I said to her, telling her what I wished someone had told me all those years ago.

She shook her head and brought her hands up to cover her face as she cried in her palms.

"How can my son kill his own sister? And not feel anything after? And to blame you all these years? How dare he?" She bellowed, her voice rising in anguish.

She finally peeled her hands off of her face and looked up at me.

"He bullied you Amelia. He looked you right in the eye and said you were at fault, when he knew that he was the only cause of Britt's death?" Lillian sobbed.

My eyes widened, surprised that she knew about this.

"Who... who told you that?" I asked, a lump rising in my throat.

Lillian sighed breathlessly, her hand encasing my own shakily.

"The police told me last night when they came to deliver the news. They said that a witness claimed that he saw Jackson harassing you. Not once, but multiple times."

Leo.

I looked away from her pressing gaze and looked down to my lap.

"Lia," she breathed out. "Why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

A few tears cascaded down my cheeks.

"I didn't want the cops to take him away from you. I thought he was all you had left."

Lillian let out another strangled breath, her hand squeezing mine desperately.

"Look at me Amelia."

I slowly looked up, my heart shattering as I saw her strong gaze pinned on mine.

"Nobody, and I mean nobody, had the right to make you feel as if Brittany's death was your fault. My daughter was closest to you. It must break her to see you get caught in this so much. And I'm sorry Lia. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you this sooner. I was so caught up in my own depression that I neglected you. I should've seeked you out. Maybe together, we could've helped each other move on from this faster. Maybe it would've hurt less, would've been less lonely. I didn't want you to think that me not talking to you was because I hated you for what we assumed Levi had done. That was never my intention."

I cried harder at her apology. She suddenly pulled me into her motherly embrace as I sobbed into her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry sweetheart. I'm sorry that your innocent heart got caught up in all of this," she said, patting my head in a comforting matter as I cried in her shoulder.

"And I swear to you, Jackson is going to get all the hell he deserves. That scum is no son of my mine. Not when he hurt both my daughters the way he did."

*  *  *  *

I left Lillian's house late in the morning. Both of us talked some more about how to bring about Jackson's crimes into court. Lillian had cried profusely when I told her all of what Jackson did to me, including the torture he put me through when we were in high school. She swore to get me and Brittany avenged.

There was a different fire in her now, different from when Levi was found guilty of Brittany's death. When Levi had been found guilty, Lillian had went into shock mode, not believing a lot around her. She isolated herself, not keeping up with the rest of the world. She locked herself away, only focusing on painting her heart out. However, ever since she found out the truth about Jackson, she's been adamant that he pays for what he did.

Maybe she had also believed that Levi couldn't possibly kill Brittany. She had seen him grow up in front of her. He was almost like a son to her as much as I was a daughter to her.

Maybe she saw the difference between Jackson and Levi, making it more believable for her that Jackson killed Brittany.

I sighed as I drove to my last destination of the day. I swerved into the parking lot, finding a spot near the front. I quickly got out, making my way to the building quickly.

When I entered, a reception came into view and I quickly headed there. A woman sat on the other side, and I made my way to her. She asked for my name and who I was to see. After a few phone calls, she finally turned to me and told me to wait in the waiting area for a few minutes. I took a seat where she instructed, my knees bouncing in worry as I waited.

Not long after, and officer came towards me and bowed slightly at me.

"Ms. Harrison," she said.

I nodded at him, recognizing her as Officer Santana. She had been one of the leading officers in this case.

"Follow me, Miss."

I followed her through a maze of hallways, not paying much attention to where I was going. We finally stopped in front of a large metal door. I felt sick just looking at it, and my heart thudded when Officer Santana slowly opened the door.

At first, I couldn't see anything since the room was dimly lit. However, the moment my eyes adjusted, they fell onto the figure in the middle of the room, sitting behind a heavy metal table. His head was downcast, his hands joined together and resting on the table.

He wasn't wearing handcuffs.

I turned to Officer Santana nervously and she only gave me an encouraging nod.

"Go on, Amelia. No need to be afraid."

Her words shook me to the core. She was right.

I didn't need to be afraid of my brother.

The same brother who I grew up with, played football with, watched movies with. The same brother who patched up all the bruises I got all the time since I was so clumsy. The same brother who cheered me on in every single one of my basketball games. The same brother who punched Kole Mathers in middel school when he said I looked like a 'good lay.' The same brother who let me paint his nails every time my own were coloured already.

He was my brother.

My blood.

The only thing separating us was four years of not seeing each other.

I let in a shaky breath, my legs tingling as I took a step inside the room. Gaining the courage, I took more steps, until I was finally close enough for Levi to sense that someone else was in the room.

Officer Santana didn't follow me in, since there was no need to. I wasn't here to see a criminal. I was here for my brother.

I took one final step forward, my body hitting the metal chair across from Levi. I saw how his body tensed up, and after a few moments, he looked up hesitantly.

My heart broke as I saw him.

His eyes were as red as mine, if not more. He was wearing a casual outfit, not the typical prisoner outfit I had expected to see. His hair was longer now, a small beard covering the bottom half of his face. For a moment, I didn't recognize him. But once his honey coloured eyes came in contact with my own, I let in a shaky breath, knowing that this man here was my brother.

His face held a shocked look as he saw me enter.

"L-Lia?" He said breathlessly.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. Quietly I took the seat in front of him.

We stared at each other for a few moments, unable to say anything. I finally broke the silence.

"Did you know you were drugged that night?" I asked quietly.

He lowered his head in shame.

"It was too late by the time I figured it out. The police had already put me in a cell."

I swallowed thickly.

"Why didn't you say anything then?" I asked.

He let out a shaky breath, lifting his head to meet my gaze.

"I had a horrible day Amelia. I was so jealous of John and Brittany. I thought... I thought that in that state... I could've done anything. I believed it. I believed that I- that I took her innocence. I didn't remember anything and I thought that what others were telling me was true. That I did hurt and kill Brittany."

Both of our eyes watered at the same time, tears falling down our cheeks relentlessly. I was the first to wipe away my tears.

"Do you remember now?" I mumbled.

He let out a shaky breath and nodded.

"Last night, a hynotist came to see me. After Jackson's statement, they realized that maybe I truly didn't remember anything from that night. I had told them that four years ago, but no one believed me then. So they called in a hynotist after Jackson's testimony yesterday and the hypnotist put me under to figure out if I was telling the truth. And it was all true."

I felt angry as he explained everything. How could the officers think of doing all this now? Why not then, back fours years ago?

"That night, I was looking for Brittany at the party. That was true. But I just wanted to talk to her. Just one last time before she told John what she felt. As I was about to follow her, Jackson had stopped me."

From then on, Levi explained the night of the party to me in his perspective. He explained how he went missing the whole day to just go by the lake near our house and think. He wanted to figure out what to say to Brittany. I believed that, because the lake was a place Levi often went to. It was quiet and he liked it there. He'd stay there for hours on end, returning when the sky was dark.

He explained that at the party Jackson stopped him and offered him something to put in his drink to get a boost. He had denied that, but Jackson may have slipped it in any way. After that, Levi's night seemed to have been a blur. He remembers waking up in the cell, and fron there on, he had spent four years of his life in a prison, for a crime he didn't commit.

I was sobbing uncontrollably by the end. My heart was cracking, and I found myself walking over to Levi. He was crying too as I slid on my knees beside him. He turned to me quickly, his arms wrapping around my shoulders.

"What are you doing Amelia?" He asked, shaking me lightly.

"I'm sorry Levi. Sorry for not believing in you. I just knew. I knew you couldn't have done it, but I was just a coward to go against what everyone was saying," I cried.

Levi fell to the ground in front of me, his hands wounded tightly on my shoulders.

"Lia, look at me."

Through my blurry vision, I looked up to face Levi. His face was determined, his eyes only slightly watery now.

"You don't have to feel sorry Amelia. It was my choice not to say anything. None of this was your fault. I'm just glad we know the truth now."

He said it so lightly, as if spending four years in jail was no big deal. As if missing out on four years of his life was no big deal.

I reached forward and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in for a tight embrace. He sucked in a breath as I did so, and I didn't think much of it before quickly pulling away from him.

"I'm glad to have you back, Levi. I truly am."

He smiled at me.